Out singer Nikole Potulsky is giving voice to small-town LGBTI folks.
Look, we’re massive Springsteen fans, but other people have hometowns, too! We’re very pumped that queer Portland singer and storyteller Nikole Potulsky has just released her new single, “My Hometown,” off her debut album You Want to Know About Me.
You can listen to "My Hometown" by clicking here.
Potulsky explains, “In a small Missouri farming town, just 30 miles south of the flagship campus of University of Missouri which was home to a small but mighty queer community, I used to play a monthly show. Back then, and still today, it wasn’t safe to be out in small towns—but for that year, in that bar, we had a little safe haven. The owner was a combat veteran, a former Marine, who made it clear that his place was a safe space. So on my monthly Saturday night, queers would drive down and join the farmers, the volunteer firefighters, the two-steppers, and the drinkers on the dancefloor. Unlikely friendships were formed, enlightening conversations were had, and a small group of queers became welcomed regulars.
“ 'My Hometown' is a song I wrote about that time, that place, and the simple pleasures of a simple life. To all of the LGBTQ folks living in rural towns, may you be celebrated for who you are, where you are.”
Nikole’s powerful voice and vivid lyrics shine inside a chorus of Portland musical talent who were given one simple instruction: “Listen to the stories and play what feels right.” What emerged is a rich soundscape of emotion that moves deftly between toe tapping songs of home to the heartbreaking songs of loss. Nikole says, “This is an album about power: how we find it, how we lose it, how we give it away, and what we must do to get it back."
The song "Rumble Seat" has already been picked up as by Viceland's Twiz and Tuck which airs nationwide on Monday nights. The full album will be available for purchase on iTunes on June 15, 2017, and can be pre-ordered at www.NikolePotulsky.com/store.